X Files Welcome Back Mulder Office Party
by JKerry
Summary: After Mulder and Doggett got on good terms, Scully organizes an office party so Mulder could thank the FBI team for helping her find him. Takes place after Empedocles, Season 8.
1. Chapter 1

X Files office party.

Special Agent Fox Mulder groaned as he looked at his calendar that Monday morning. He had an event circled in bright red pen. The event, in his hurried handwriting, said, 'Office party'. He sighed. He knew that his partner, Special Agent Dana Scully, had been having this party in her mind for days beforehand. She was always coaxing for him to go, and for some reason, he always managed to get out of it with an excuse.

But not today. This is why the day was going to be a long one. Scully told him she wanted him to make an appearance, after all, she had pointed out, that most of the FBI team had helped her to find him, and Special Agent Doggett would be grateful if he showed his face.

Mulder had always protested that he didn't want the X Files to be made fun of, or thought of lightly, as he wanted them to be taken seriously. But this time was different. He had been back from the dead, and Scully wanted him to thank everyone who helped her to find him. As it was important to Scully, he thought he had to go. So with a heavy sigh, Mulder placed the calendar back on the wall and sat at his desk.

A few minutes later, Agent Scully walked in with a smile on her face. "Mulder," she said happily. She sounded ready to do business. Must have had her Starbucks caramel latte, Mulder thought. "Hey, Scully," Mulder greeted her. "You know what today is, don't you?" Scully asked without missing a beat, as she sat at her desk next to his. "I know, I know. It's the party tonight," Mulder said, trying not to sound too bored, but not succeeding. "Yeah. You're still coming, aren't you? You promised," Scully prompted him.

With another sigh, Mulder nodded. "Yeah, I'm going," he said. "I know how important this is to you," he said. Scully nodded. "Yeah. I just thought it would be nice of you to thank everyone as they helped me find you," she said. The party was organised by their boss, AD Skinner, and no doubt Scully had come up with the idea, Mulder thought ruefully.

"OK," Scully said brightly. "We'll just tidy the office for a bit, then wait for Doggett to arrive. We'll then all head to the bullpen together and have that party," she said enthusiastically. She rubbed her 8 month pregnant belly absent mindedly as she sat down in the chair in a more comfortable position.

"How's the little one?" Mulder asked, with a nod to her belly. Scully smiled wistfully. "The baby's fine," she said. "Needless to say, I won't be touching any alcohol tonight. Speaking of which, did you bring any for everyone?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Mulder nodded and gestured to a bag next to his desk. "I bought a six pack. I figured that'll be enough, after all, I can't imagine Skinner drinking much, can you?" he asked Scully with a grin. She grinned back. "Thanks, Mulder," she said seriously. "I know you hate parties, so I'm really grateful you're coming to this one," she said. Mulder smiled back at her. "You know me, Scully," he said. "I'll do anything for you if it makes you happy," he found himself saying. Scully smiled back at him.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Come in, it's open," Mulder called automatically. The door opened, and Special Agent John Doggett entered the office. "Good morning," he said, acknowledging everyone in the room. Mulder and Scully nodded back as Doggett carried over two bags and placed them at the edge of Scully's desk. "What's with the bag?" Scully asked him with a raised eyebrow. Doggett grinned at her and Mulder. "For tonight, people. We're going to have one hell of a party," he said. He then opened the bag as Mulder walked over to Scully's desk to see what was in the bag, but Doggett cleared his throat and put a hand out to stop Mulder from seeing the contents of his bag. "Sorry, Mulder, but it's a surprise. You can't see it until tonight," Doggett told him apologetically. Mulder shrugged non committedly before walking back over to his desk. "Whatever," he said. Scully, however, was smiling as she looked in Doggett's bag.

"That's great. Thank you, Doggett," she said. "We're going to have some fun tonight," she added. Doggett nodded at her. "Got your best outfit ready?" he asked with a grin. Scully smiled. "You bet," she said. Mulder cleared his throat. "All right, you two. You can party with each other tonight. Until then we've got work to do," he said.


	2. Chapter 2

**X Files: **

**Welcome Back Mulder office party **

**Chapter 2**

**The end of the day couldn't come fast enough for Agent Scully. She was excited to introduce Mulder to her friends at the FBI. She remembered a few faces in Skinner's search team who helped find Mulder when they stampeded into the compound in which Jeremiah Smith was hiding.**

**They found Mulder dead at the camp, and Scully ran to find Smith. But it was too late - by the time she ran back to the compound, Smith had been abducted and taken back by aliens in a spaceship that hovered over the camp for a few minutes before disappearing. Scully thought their one last hope to save Mulder had gone for good, until they bought Mulder back to hospital and took him off life support. Scully had found that it was incubating the virus in Mulder's body, and Mulder would heal simply by lying in hospital and having some anti-virals. So that's what they did, and Mulder recovered in hospital a few days later.**

**Scully was looking forward to seeing her friend Sally Howton. Sally had kept watch over Mulder in hospital when Scully wasn't there, and she felt she had a great debt to Sally. At 5pm, she asked Doggett to go to the bullpen and keep the door closed for Mulder. So Doggett did, and took his bags with him.**

**Agent Doggett wasn't great mates with Mulder, but the two were on talking terms again now that they had time to get to know each other. Scully told him she thought the party would build their friendship too, so it was doubly important to Scully that Doggett and Mulder both came. **

**FBI agent Sally Howton opened the bullpen door for Doggett and ushered him in. Doggett and Howton had met before but only briefly. He met her when he had to go with Scully and leave Mulder for a while. Howton then arrived after Scully had called her and she had made small talk with Doggett before Doggett and Scully left her in charge of watching over Mulder. Doggett thought Howton was a likeable person. She was in her mid forties, and had long brown hair. Her hazel eyes lit up when she recognised him. "Agent Doggett," she said. "Agent Howton," Doggett replied with a grin, and the two shook hands. "Come in. Scully said she'd call us when she'll come up with Mulder," she said. "We don't have long, though. Have you got everything?" she asked. **

**"Everything except the kitchen sink," Doggett told her. He looked behind her in the darkened office, and could make out about a dozen people standing behind her. One figure he recognised instantly was his partner, Special Agent Monica Reyes. She smiled as she walked up to Doggett. "Hey," she greeted him, and he grinned at her. "Hey, Monica," he replied. "Ready to party?" he asked her. Reyes grinned back. "As ready as I'll ever be," she said. **

**Doggett took in the scene. Above them was a huge banner saying, 'WELCOME BACK AGENT MULDER', and there was a drawing of a little grey alien under the writing. The banner was hung over a table which was laid with cakes, cans of beer and drink, as well as squash and chocolate. Scully had a craving for pizza, so there was a few pizza slices on the table, too. Everyone stayed quiet. Doggett unpacked his bag and another agent showed him where to put his contributions to the party.**

**He had a six pack of beer and a cake, which said, 'Welcome back Spooky' and a picture of a UFO underneath it in the icing. After he laid his items on the table, Howton made a 'ssshhh' gesture by placing a finger over her lips. "I hear them coming," she told them as she waited by the door. So Agents Doggett and Reyes stood quietly with the rest of the group as they waited for Scully and Mulder to come in. **


End file.
